Sling | |
---|---|
Location within Gloucestershire | |
OS grid reference | SO583079 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Police | Gloucestershire |
Fire | Gloucestershire |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Sling is a village in Gloucestershire, England. The village is located between Clearwell and Bream. It is just south of the village of Milkwall.
The hamlet of Sling derives its name from a local iron ore mine. [1] In 1838 G. E. Jackson, a Birmingham ironmaster, sank "Old Sling" ore mine below old workings at Clearwell Meend. It was one of the larger iron ore mines in the Forest of Dean, and in the mid-1860s it employed nearly 100 people. The mine had closed by 1921. [2]
A factory for repairing boilers, F. E. Watkins Limited, was founded at Sling in 1942, and was still operating in the late 1960s when it also made machine tools and employed around 150 people. [2] The factory used to announce shift starts and ends using a World War 2 air raid siren until the late 1970s.
In the 18th and 19th century there were just a few scattered cottages in the area. Two of the cottages, in the fork of a road to Parkend, were later occupied by a beerhouse called the Miners' Arms. [1] Another building nearby adopted that name by the late 1870s and remains an inn today. [3] Several more cottages were built before the 1920s when the growth of Sling began around the crossroads formed by routes from St Briavels to Parkend and from Bream to Coleford. [1] A memorial hall built at Sling around 1921 was superseded by a new Miners' Welfare institute in 1931. It later became a social club. [3]
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.
Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census.
Parkend is a village, located at the foot of the Cannop Valley, in the Royal Forest of Dean, West Gloucestershire, England, and has a history dating back to the early 17th century. During the 19th century it was a busy industrial village with several coal mines, an ironworks, stoneworks, timber-yard and a tinplate works, but by the early 20th century most had succumbed to a loss of markets and the general industrial decline. In more recent times, the village has become a tourist destination.
Coleford is a market town in the west of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, two miles (3 km) east of the Welsh border and close to the Wye Valley. It is the administrative centre of the Forest of Dean district. The combined population of the town's two electoral wards at the 2011 census was 8,359. The population of the town's parish was 9,273 in the 2021 Census. The parish includes the village of Baker's Hill.
Clearwell Caves, at Clearwell in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, is a natural cave system which has been extensively mined for iron ore. It now operates primarily as a mining museum.
Bream is a village in the Forest of Dean, west Gloucestershire, England. The population was around 3,170 in the 2011 census.
Freeminer is an ancient title given to coal or iron miners in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, who have earned the right to mine personal plots, known as gales.
Newland is a village and civil parish in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. situated on the east side of the River Wye, 3 miles (5 km) south-east of Monmouth. It is notable for its parish church of All Saints, known as the 'Cathedral of the Forest'. It was the centre of a large parish with complex boundaries and scattered settlements.
Clearwell is a village and former ancient manor in the Forest of Dean, West Gloucestershire, England. A recent survey indicated that the population of Clearwell is approximately 350.
Brockhollands is a hamlet located in the Forest of Dean. It lies between the village of Bream and the town of Lydney in Gloucestershire. It is an obscure and small area with around 30 houses and is relatively unknown even in the local area. With its only attributes being the local sheep farm, it rarely sees any tourism but is frequently driven through by those going up to Bream.
Milkwall is a village in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. It lies between the village of Sling to the south, and the town of Coleford to the north. Milkwall, strictly speaking, lies South of Station Rd in the parish of West Dean, whereas Tufthorn is North of Station Rd in the parish of Coleford.
Yorkley is a village in west Gloucestershire, England. The village includes the settlement of Yorkley Slade to the east. Yorkley is situated between the villages of Pillowell and Oldcroft.
West Dean is a civil parish, situated in the Forest of Dean district of Gloucestershire, England.
Broadwell is a village about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Coleford, Gloucestershire, England. It is at the western edge of the Forest of Dean, in the civil parish of Coleford, which is also its post town. The village of Mile End is to the north and Coalway is to the south.
Whitecroft is a village in the Forest of Dean in west Gloucestershire, England. It is located in-between Bream and Yorkley. Whitecroft comes under the postal district of Lydney.
Warren James (1792–1841) was a rebel leader in the Forest of Dean, England.
New Fancy was a colliery on the Forest of Dean Coalfield near Parkend in Gloucestershire, England. After the colliery closed its spoil heap was landscaped. The site has a picnic area, and viewing site from where goshawks can be seen. It is linked to the Forest of Dean Family Cycle Trail.
Parkend Ironworks, also known as Parkend Furnace, in the village of Parkend, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, was a coke-fired furnace built in 1799. Most of the works were demolished between 1890 and 1908, but the engine house survived and is arguably the best preserved example of its kind to be found in the United Kingdom.
Cinderford Ironworks, also known as Cinderford Furnace, was a coke-fired blast furnace, built in 1795, just west of Cinderford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England.
The Forest of Dean Coalfield, underlying the Forest of Dean, in west Gloucestershire, is one of the smaller coalfields in the British Isles, although intensive mining during the 19th and 20th centuries has had enormous influence on the landscape, history, culture, and economy of the area.